The present invention concerns an atomizer, particularly a trailer-mounted atomizer.
There are known to be at present, available on the market and widely used, trailer-mounted atomizers which comprise a spreading apparatus fed from a tank, containing the treating substances to be spread, and a trailer carrying both the apparatus and the tank, said trailer being towed by vehicles, as for example tractors.
Nevertheless, this type of arrangement has always involved problems as far as use and maintenance, since it fairly often happens that the towing means are not suited to allow the trailer to follow the wanted trajectories, while the means transmitting the motion from the tractor to the atomizer are subject to undesired and even dangerous stresses, due to the paths having to be followed and to the unevenness of the ground. In fact, in many types of cultivations, particularly orchards or vineyards, a tractor towing a trailer-mounted atomizer has often great difficulties in following the set mixed courses, often forming very sharp curves, which the arrangement of the plants require to follow in order to spread the treating substance in a complete, efficient and uniform manner. It is besides evident that, during the spreading treatment, the tractor has to work on grounds which are often rough and uneven. The spreading of the treating substances thereby risks not to be always effective, while the undesired stresses on the connecting joint between the towing drawbar of the trailer and the tractor, and on the cardan shaft transmitting the motion from the tractor to the atomizer, compel the user to carry out tiresome, sometimes frequent and often costly, maintenance operations.
The main object of the present invention is to supply a trailer-mounted atomizer, the towing of which is obtained in a manner such as to allow performing more easily the manoeuvres on the bends of the courses followed by the tractor, and transmitting the motion from the tractor to the atomizer without changing the position of the cardan shaft, also along bends, on humps, and so on.
Another object of the present invention is to supply a trailer-mounted atomizer, the towing of which is obtained in a manner such as to reduce to a minimum the stresses produced thereon by the unevenness of the ground on which it operates.
According to a first essential aspect of the present invention, in a trailer-mounted atomizer preset to be towed with a tractor and comprising a spreading apparatus fed from a tank and a trailer with a towing drawbar, said tank is fixed directly onto the trailer and the towing drawbar of the trailer is articulated to the tractor by way of the spreading apparatus, this latter being removably fixed to the tractor. Suitably, the motion is transmitted from the tractor to the atomizer by means of a cardan shaft interposed between the tractor and the spreading apparatus and always keeping in a substantially horizontal position.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, the towing drawbar of the trailer is connected to the base of the spreading apparatus by means of an articulated joint with vertical axis, and the spreading apparatus is removably fixed to the tractor by being suspended to the draw-hook of said tractor, onto which it is also held by jack means.
In a preferred embodiment of the atomizer according to the present invention, adjustable connection means are provided between the spreading apparatus and the tractor and, respectively, between the trailer and the spreading apparatus, to make the distance between the axis of said articulated joint and the axis of the rear wheels of the tractor at least approximately equal to the distance between the axis of said articulated joint and the axis of the wheels of the trailer.
The first of said connection means consist of a plurality of holes formed on the base of the spreading apparatus, to allow connecting the same in different positions, by way of a pin, to an end eyelet of the draw-hook of the tractor.
The second of said connection means comprise, in turn, a square bar connected to said articulated joint and apt to be inserted into the end of the towing drawbar of the trailer, which consists of a square-section tube of corresponding shape, vertical holes and pairs of holes being respectively provided on said bar and on said tube, to connect these last ones in different positions by inserting a pin into one of said holes and pairs of holes.
Furthermore, to the articulated joint with vertical axis there are preferably associated an articulated joint with horizontal axis and a rotating joint, the axis of which coincides with the longitudinal axis of the towing drawbar of the trailer.